Post by Captain America on Feb 2, 2009 13:13:16 GMT -5
Team dynamics for both the commander's own team and the opposing team(s) is generally the third issue of consideration. Contemplation of the team dynamics expected to be in effect in a future woodsball game can yield significant foresight into the kind of game it will evolve into. For example, if one of two teams has heavy strengths on long-ranged combat and maneuvers, then a commander should expect—with the weather cooperating, of course—for that team to employ a strategy such as a ghost advance, also known as a 'butter advance'.
In this strategy, the team's attacking elements advance toward the objective, heavily stacked with marksmen. Every time they hit the enemy, every member of each squad element opens up with ferocious fire, then ceases, falls back, and with the rest of the squad, attempts to find a way around the enemy silently. The marksmen, however, stay. When the enemy attempt to advance, they are pinned down and inhibited by the marksmen, who gradually withdraw. Those marksmen start phasing out their fire, so that eventually they stop shooting altogether, even though they haven't withdrawn completely. Nearly invisible through the use of camouflage, they let the enemy come out in the open, thinking that the marksmen have withdrawn. They hold their fire until they have a number of sure shots, then all take them simultaneously. Radio cooperation is a necessity in this situation; or, should complete silence be required, practiced hand signals will be used instead. The marksmen then withdraw as quickly as they can without revealing their position, and then follow along the route taken by the rest of their squad.
If executed properly, the effect will be that one's attack elements will be scattered throughout the field, known to their commander but completely unknown to the enemy commander, who will hesitate in his decisions because of his self-acknowledged poor understanding of the situation. These hesitations, coupled with the obvious advantage already in place, will complete the power swing in heavy favor of the team using the ghost advance.
Studies of team dynamics can lead commanders to predict the kind of game that his/her enemies will play. In this example, the commander should expect that team with skills in long-ranged combat and maneuvers to play paintball that allows those skills to be employed to the advantage. Since he expects it, he may decide to have his forces arrayed in a wedge formation that spans a large portion of the field, so that once contact is made, the branches of the wedge can advance and envelop the enemy forces who were trying to sneak by. The enemy commander's team is then scattered throughout the field, with no substantial support and no battle line.
Player positions are an important aspect of woodsball strategy. Since player positions reflect the kinds of woodsballers who play them, study of a team's strengths in different positions can be very helpful in understanding team dynamics. For example, in the example of the previous section, a particular team was strong with maneuvers and long-ranged combat. This was probably inferred by the singularly high amount of marksmen on that team. Similarly, if a team has a high number of scouts, a commander can predict that team to play very fast and movement-filled games, with the enemy seeking a close-ranged gridlock in which his/her large amount of light and fast players can swarm over the opposition quickly and overwhelmingly. The obvious counter to this strategy is to keep the enemy at arm's distance, trying to keep one's forces moving quickly and never letting them settle into positions.
One way that a commander can prevent his general strategy being guessed this way, a commander can try and conceal his or her team's position by frequently switching the team members between similar positions. An example of this is concealing players of various positions, namely marksmen and scouts, within the riflemen category. Often, when this is done, the marksmen and scouts are distinguished by codes. For example, marksmen may be called alpha riflemen, and scouts beta riflemen. This way, when a commander experiences a sudden and important need for marksmen or scouts, all he or she needs to do is call for "alpha riflemen" or "beta riflemen".
Team structure and organization is also an important factor in woodsball strategy. Fortunately, it is not one that usually needs extensive thought each time a strategy is worked out, but it is important nevertheless.
Organization is often one of the defining characteristics of advanced woodsball play and scenarioball alike.[3] In general, teams are based on a hierarchical system, beginning with overall team command and proceeding down to the commanders of individual squads or even fireteams. Depending upon team and field size, there can be many hierarchical tiers of command. In an example, in a large team (100+ members) on a large field (20+ acres) may have an OP hierarchy that is similar to this: team command (commander, assistants, communications assistants, etc.), OP command (OP commander and possibly assistants), theater command, squad command, and fireteam command (probably the most experienced member of the fireteam, and not a designated 'officer').
In a team of such size, the OP and D commanders, commanding their respective fractions of the team, are always directly beneath the team commander. Beneath them are theater commanders, who each command elements of the team operating within their theaters (a specific string of hills, the defense of a specific fortress, et cetera). Beneath them are squad commanders, who command their respective fireteams.
In a team of the common size of about 20 members, an organization of five four-man squads is most efficient. Three squads (squads Alpha, Beta, and Delta) form the OP force, commanded by either the team commander or an appointed senior squad commander. The remaining two squads (Epsilon and Gamma) are commanded by the team commander, if he is not with the OP force, or in his place, the most senior squad commander. In order to counter the static defense used de-facto in almost every game, Gamma is the only squad that actually remains within the team's defensive fortifications, while Epsilon advances with the OP force until a front line is established (if one ever is). This allows Epsilon to hold territory, but does not force them to occupy a single position (such as the fortifications around a flag station). Free to maneuver, Epsilon can make itself far more useful than simply being so many more guns behind a bunker, especially when used in cooperation with the team's garrison defenders (Gamma). For this purpose of hit-and-run attrition attacks against a force often three or four times larger, the team commander will often place his or her best paintballers in Epsilon.
In this strategy, the team's attacking elements advance toward the objective, heavily stacked with marksmen. Every time they hit the enemy, every member of each squad element opens up with ferocious fire, then ceases, falls back, and with the rest of the squad, attempts to find a way around the enemy silently. The marksmen, however, stay. When the enemy attempt to advance, they are pinned down and inhibited by the marksmen, who gradually withdraw. Those marksmen start phasing out their fire, so that eventually they stop shooting altogether, even though they haven't withdrawn completely. Nearly invisible through the use of camouflage, they let the enemy come out in the open, thinking that the marksmen have withdrawn. They hold their fire until they have a number of sure shots, then all take them simultaneously. Radio cooperation is a necessity in this situation; or, should complete silence be required, practiced hand signals will be used instead. The marksmen then withdraw as quickly as they can without revealing their position, and then follow along the route taken by the rest of their squad.
If executed properly, the effect will be that one's attack elements will be scattered throughout the field, known to their commander but completely unknown to the enemy commander, who will hesitate in his decisions because of his self-acknowledged poor understanding of the situation. These hesitations, coupled with the obvious advantage already in place, will complete the power swing in heavy favor of the team using the ghost advance.
Studies of team dynamics can lead commanders to predict the kind of game that his/her enemies will play. In this example, the commander should expect that team with skills in long-ranged combat and maneuvers to play paintball that allows those skills to be employed to the advantage. Since he expects it, he may decide to have his forces arrayed in a wedge formation that spans a large portion of the field, so that once contact is made, the branches of the wedge can advance and envelop the enemy forces who were trying to sneak by. The enemy commander's team is then scattered throughout the field, with no substantial support and no battle line.
Player positions are an important aspect of woodsball strategy. Since player positions reflect the kinds of woodsballers who play them, study of a team's strengths in different positions can be very helpful in understanding team dynamics. For example, in the example of the previous section, a particular team was strong with maneuvers and long-ranged combat. This was probably inferred by the singularly high amount of marksmen on that team. Similarly, if a team has a high number of scouts, a commander can predict that team to play very fast and movement-filled games, with the enemy seeking a close-ranged gridlock in which his/her large amount of light and fast players can swarm over the opposition quickly and overwhelmingly. The obvious counter to this strategy is to keep the enemy at arm's distance, trying to keep one's forces moving quickly and never letting them settle into positions.
One way that a commander can prevent his general strategy being guessed this way, a commander can try and conceal his or her team's position by frequently switching the team members between similar positions. An example of this is concealing players of various positions, namely marksmen and scouts, within the riflemen category. Often, when this is done, the marksmen and scouts are distinguished by codes. For example, marksmen may be called alpha riflemen, and scouts beta riflemen. This way, when a commander experiences a sudden and important need for marksmen or scouts, all he or she needs to do is call for "alpha riflemen" or "beta riflemen".
Team structure and organization is also an important factor in woodsball strategy. Fortunately, it is not one that usually needs extensive thought each time a strategy is worked out, but it is important nevertheless.
Organization is often one of the defining characteristics of advanced woodsball play and scenarioball alike.[3] In general, teams are based on a hierarchical system, beginning with overall team command and proceeding down to the commanders of individual squads or even fireteams. Depending upon team and field size, there can be many hierarchical tiers of command. In an example, in a large team (100+ members) on a large field (20+ acres) may have an OP hierarchy that is similar to this: team command (commander, assistants, communications assistants, etc.), OP command (OP commander and possibly assistants), theater command, squad command, and fireteam command (probably the most experienced member of the fireteam, and not a designated 'officer').
In a team of such size, the OP and D commanders, commanding their respective fractions of the team, are always directly beneath the team commander. Beneath them are theater commanders, who each command elements of the team operating within their theaters (a specific string of hills, the defense of a specific fortress, et cetera). Beneath them are squad commanders, who command their respective fireteams.
In a team of the common size of about 20 members, an organization of five four-man squads is most efficient. Three squads (squads Alpha, Beta, and Delta) form the OP force, commanded by either the team commander or an appointed senior squad commander. The remaining two squads (Epsilon and Gamma) are commanded by the team commander, if he is not with the OP force, or in his place, the most senior squad commander. In order to counter the static defense used de-facto in almost every game, Gamma is the only squad that actually remains within the team's defensive fortifications, while Epsilon advances with the OP force until a front line is established (if one ever is). This allows Epsilon to hold territory, but does not force them to occupy a single position (such as the fortifications around a flag station). Free to maneuver, Epsilon can make itself far more useful than simply being so many more guns behind a bunker, especially when used in cooperation with the team's garrison defenders (Gamma). For this purpose of hit-and-run attrition attacks against a force often three or four times larger, the team commander will often place his or her best paintballers in Epsilon.
